South Africa

Located at the southern tip of Africa, South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world by area and the 24th most populous with over 51 million people. It has nine provinces and 2,798 kilometres of coastline. To the north lie the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.

South Africa and investment

South Africa combines the strength of a sophisticated economy with emerging market advantages. It is globally recognised as a diverse economic powerhouse, the leader in Africa, and a growth-positive investment location.

Why South Africa as a domicile?

Safe investment
South Africa is highly rated as a country with regards to investor protection and good fiscal governance. A trusted and stable fiscal environment supports a market-oriented business culture.

Ease of business operations
The World Bank rates South Africa highly for ease of doing business and the country is recognised as one of the least expensive places to start a business. Further, South Africa, which accounts for 30% of Africa’s GDP, is rated as the most competitive investment location in Africa.

South Africa has a well-educated, multilingual labour force of both professional and manufacturing workers and has adopted legislation to promote training and job-skills development to meet the needs of growing economic sectors. The country is well served by seaports and world-class airports and has a reputation as a gateway to Africa.

Tax information exchange agreements

Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Berlize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Jersey, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macao SAR, Monaco, Samoa, San Marino Saint Christopher and Nevis, Uruguay.

Double taxation treaties

Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Taxation of funds

South Africa has a residence-based system, i.e., residents are – subject to certain exclusions – taxed on their worldwide income, irrespective of where the income was earned. Non-residents are, however, taxed on their income from a South African source. Foreign taxes are credited against South African tax payable on foreign income.

The majority of the state's income is derived from income tax (personal and company tax), although nearly a third of total revenue from national government taxes comes from indirect taxes, primarily VAT.

Financial statement requirements

Directors are required by law to prepare financial statements for each financial period. These statements must give a true and fair view of the fund as at the end of the financial period and of the profit or loss for that period in accordance with the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standard) requirements.

Audit requirements

Funds are required to be audited.